We were collected from our hotel by a lovely lady called Merylee, who was to be our guide for the day and take us on a tour of the area as well as meeting with a local Realtor that she had worked with to arrange for us to view a sample of houses. Clearly it was still a little early for us to secure a specific property as yet, as even after we have arrived at the end of March, our furniture will not be arriving for another 4-6 weeks. Even so, it was really useful to see what fell within our budget and to give us an idea of what we liked and more importantly, didn't like, so I was really looking forward to it.
For a city in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, it was remarkably green and there were lots of parks and cycle tracks (I won't be using those). Phoenix also has more than 150 golf courses apparently (I won't be using those either), and as we were driving around it felt like there was one on every corner! Luckily, there was also an abundance of shopping malls, so never fear dear reader, my hobby is also catered for ... phew!
McCormick Ranch Golf Course
From a residential perspective, we had decided to focus mainly on the Scottsdale area as this would work for both the commute to school for Youngest and also the office for Mr B, and so most of the properties we were viewing fell within this location. All of the houses we looked at were BIG, with large outside spaces and pools, and varied in age. Some of the older properties had equally dated kitchens and bathrooms ... manky ... however, some had been refurbished to a very high standard and so whilst we had initially discounted older properties it was useful to look at a sample of these and as a result, will definitely keep an open mind when we are looking at final choices. Many of the outside spaces had HUGE covered patio areas, big enough to accommodate almost another whole room full of furniture, complete with ceiling fans and grills (BBQs to us!) Others did not have much shade at all, which will be an important factor for us unacclimatised Brits as temperatures can regularly reach 120ºF+ during the summer months ... gulp! (I remarked to Merylee that one of the things I would miss about the UK was the seasons, however she informed me that they had 3 seasons in Phoenix ... Hot, Hotter and Hottest ... not helping). The garden of one property we looked backed onto 'scrubland' and had large metal railings at the back with the lower half covered in wire mesh ... ah, probably to stop their dog getting out, I thought, until the Realtor advised it was probably more to stop things getting in. What?!
"What kind of things? Snakes?!?"
**throws head back and laughs** "Ha! No. That wouldn't keep a snake out." Oh joy. "It's probably for coyotes ..." OMG! **hyperventilates** ... think happy thoughts ... lollipops & rainbows & unicorns ... ! I am sooo going to have to 'man-up' when we move out here.
One of the homes we viewed (with the coyote proof fence!)
All in all it was a really fun day, made all the more so because it turned out that Merylee and I have the same sense of humour, which to be fair was mainly at the expense of poor Mr B (no change there then ... although I have to say he didn't really help himself when, as we were leaving one property, Merylee and I looked around for him wondering where he had got to and found him sitting in the back of the wrong car! Bless).
Even the cacti were friendly!
In the evening we met up with a couple of friends and ex-colleagues of mine. It has been more than 8 years since we worked together, however, we have kept in regular contact and even managed to meet up a few times over the years, despite one being in Phoenix, and the other in India (although for the past year now also in Phoenix). Can't believe they will now be my neighbours! It was so lovely to see them both and we spent a fun evening catching up and reminiscing - I haven't laughed so much in ages and it will be so nice to be able to see more of them once we move :)
The next day was our final day in Phoenix before flying back to tell Youngest all about it and show him the many pictures we had been instructed to take for him! Just time for the obligatory trip to Walmart to complete the outstanding items on our shopping list ... Advil, check ... Shout Wipes, check ... OPI nail varnish, check ... What? that's an essential of every trip! On the way back out to the car park I realised that Marcus was not with me ... where on earth had he got to this time?! Then I spotted him, talking to an elderly gentleman by the door. Apparently the old boy was complimenting Mr B on his shoes, which were a 'pointy toe' style and ones which I have always been convinced curl up every so slightly at the end (resembling something that Aladdin might wear on his magic carpet **snort!** ... a feature strenuously denied by Mr B of course). Being too polite to just thank him and walk on, Mr B had now got himself trapped in one of those 'I used to be stationed in England during the war' conversations where the old boy had now moved on to reciting a list of names of people he had met there in the hope that Mr B might know some of them (an all too common occurrence in our experience!). I left him trying to edge his way along the car park, with the old boy following along behind, still in full flow, (think they were onto politics by this point), whilst I went to wait by the car tittering to myself. I once had a similar conversation whilst on holiday in the US with a sweet elderly couple who were regaling me with tales of their trip to England many years earlier, when they had visited a 'quaint little town' around 'the middle' somewhere. "Now, what was its called Betty?" ... Oxford? No. Stratford-upon-Avon? No. The Cotswolds? No ..... "oh yes, I remember now .... Wales!"
As we were packing up in our hotel room, I noticed a (very) large kind of screen tucked away behind the door. What on earth is that for? Oh ... it seems to be on a sliding rail ... and oh, look ... there's another one behind it ... what happens if you slide it all the way along? ...... Ah ... it closes off the bathroom and toilet. Right.
No comments:
Post a Comment